Ankle decisions — 2024

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence supports readjudicating the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right ankle conditions. The evidence includes updated VA treatment records showing bilateral ankle pain, as well as lay statements from the Veteran.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for lumbar spine, left shoulder, right shoulder, left knee, right knee, and ankle disabilities due to a lack of evidence showing these conditions originated during or were otherwise related to his military service.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a right knee disability, left ankle arthritis, and hypertension. The claims of entitlement to service connection for migraines and obstructive sleep apnea are remanded.

The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's right hip strain, as it may be related to his service-connected disabilities.

The Veteran's back disability is granted service connection, but her left ankle and hip disabilities are denied.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The left ankle disability claim is being remanded for an adequate VA opinion, and the obstructive sleep apnea claim is being remanded for opinions on causation and aggravation.

The Board has granted service connection for right ankle gout, finding that the Veteran's symptoms manifested within one year of his discharge and have persisted since.

The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions are being remanded due to inadequate medical opinions. The Board will seek new opinions to determine if the conditions are related to service.

Service connection for hypercholesterolemia, microscopic hematuria, bilateral hearing loss, tinea versicolor, psoriatic arthritis of the knees, shoulders, and ankles, a bilateral shoulder disability (including psoriatic arthritis and bilateral lateral collateral ligament sprain), and a bilateral ankle disability (including psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis) is denied.,The Veteran's hypercholesterolemia and microscopic hematuria are not service-connected as they were preexisting conditions.

The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence sufficient to readjudicate the previously denied claims of entitlement to service connection for left wrist, right knee, left knee, right ankle, and left ankle disabilities has been received. However, further development is needed as there are pre-decisional duty to assist errors in the current examination reports.

The Board has restored the 20 percent evaluations for ankylosis of the left and right ankle tarsal joints, effective December 1, 2020, finding that the evidence did not show material improvement warranting a reduction.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as of April 1, 2021.

The Board has identified errors in the VA examinations and is remanding the case for further examination to ensure that only the correct Veteran's service treatment records are considered.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, anxiety condition, asthma (shortness of breath), obstructive sleep apnea, left ankle condition, right ankle condition, and left hip condition have all been denied. The Board has also remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left knee condition and right knee condition.

The Veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to inadequate medical opinions and duty-to-assist errors.,Specifically, the VA examiners did not provide sufficient rationale for their conclusions regarding the nature and etiology of the claimed conditions.

The claim for an initial increased disability rating in excess of 70 percent for PTSD is denied.,The claim for an initial increased disability rating in excess of 10 percent for hearing loss is denied.,The claim for an initial increased disability rating in excess of 10 percent for tinnitus is denied.,The claim for an initial compensable disability rating for allergic rhinitis is denied.,The claim for service connection for TBI is denied.,The claim for service connection for a bilateral foot disability, to include flat foot pain, is denied.,The claim for service connection for a right ankle lateral collateral ligament sprain is granted.,The claim for service connection for xerosis cutis is granted.

The Board has dismissed all pending appeals due to the Veteran's withdrawal of his claims prior to a final decision.

The Veteran's TDIU claim was denied because the evidence did not show that his service-connected disabilities alone rendered him unemployable, despite meeting the schedular criteria for a TDIU.

The Veteran is granted an effective date of March 2, 2016 for the award of a 40 percent disability rating for lumbosacral strain.,The Veteran's initial claim for increased left ankle collateral ligament sprain was denied as his disability does not warrant a rating in excess of 10 percent.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left and right ankle conditions as secondary to his service-connected bilateral pes planus, finding that there was no medical nexus between the claimed ankle conditions and his service-connected pes planus.